The cockpit generally includes a display device provided with screens, and many physical and/or software interfaces giving the possibility of interacting with the systems of the aircraft.
These interfaces notably include control buttons, keyboards, rotary control members, which are for example positioned on the console located between the members of the crew, on a panel located above the display screens, under the windshield.
Certain interfaces comprising a rotary member are able to control directly or indirectly menus or/and input fields of the display device, in order to navigate between the fields on the screens, to adjust the parameters, to enter instructions, or to actuate avionic systems.
The rotation of the rotary member is carried out with a constant torque which may be felt by the user. The user is therefore unable to easily perceive where he/she is located on the screens of the display device, what type of airplane parameter is being adjusted by him/her, or what are the consequences of the actuation of an airplane system.
The user therefore must carefully track the consequences of the rotation of the rotary member, and determine by means of his/her perception what is the state of the systems of the airplane, in order to appreciate the consequences of his/her action. This consumes time for the user, and requires the attention of the user while it may be used for other purposes.
Further, in certain cases, the actuation of the rotary member on a particular field may act in a totally different way on the aircraft, notably depending on the selective adjustment for actuating the field.
For example, the consequences of a set value applied to a rate of descent, may notably vary depending on the selected type of descent mode, for example a slope in degrees, or a descent rate in feet per second.
This may have significant consequences on the conduction of the flight, notably if the user believes that he/she is in a first descent mode, while a second descent mode has been selected.
U.S. 2015/0081137 discloses an interface system of the aforementioned type, wherein a haptic feedback is provided to the user for improving the interaction with the system.
The interface system described in this document describes a single haptic profile in which the resistance provided to the user increases in the vicinity of a given set value which has to be inputted by the user.